Discover, track down, and pose alongside the inflatable mobile sculpture by artist Kurt Perschke.
Perschke’s RedBall Project is a sculptural installation traveling around the globe, adopting cities as its canvas. Through a mixture of vision and wit, the RedBall squeezes between buildings and is hoisted above bridges finding those mundane, overlooked places and filling them with possibility. From June 8th - 13th, 2021 the 15ft red ball will explore our unique architectural landscape and history with daily installations popping up throughout Santa Cruz County.
RedBall Locations & Schedule
At each location, the RedBall will be on view from 11 am to 6 pm.
Del Mar Theatre Rendering by artist Kurt Perschke
Tuesday, June 8 | Santa Cruz Wharf -- 21 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz
Wednesday, June 9 | Del Mar Theater in Downtown Santa Cruz -- 1124 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz
Thursday, June 10 | Esplanade Park Bandshell near Capitola Village -- 120 Monterey Avenue, Capitola
Friday, June 11 | Cabrillo College Downtown Watsonville Center -- 318 Union Street, Watsonville
Saturday, June 12 | The MAH in Downtown Santa Cruz -- 705 Front Street, Santa Cruz
Sunday, June 13 | Cowell's Beach -- 21 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz
“I utilize my opportunity as an artist to be a catalyst for new encounters within the everyday.”
The RedBall has visited three continents and over 26 cities. Check out the artist, Kurt Perschke's renderings of the RedBall in Santa Cruz and past pop-ups across the world.
Wharf Rendering by artist Kurt Perschke
Under Santa Cruz Pier Rendering by artist Kurt Perschke
Redball Project
At the MAH Rendering by artist Kurt Perschke
Cabrillo College Rendering by artist Kurt Perschke
Meet the Artist
Artist
Kurt Perschke
Read Bio
In the News
Attention Santa Cruzans, the summer of the big red ball is coming!
"The 15-foot RedBall is planning a summer residency in Santa Cruz County [...] it will show up in a different place to be inflated on site. Then it will hang out to pose for selfies and interact with the curious public, just as it’s done in Barcelona, Paris, Busan, Sydney, Montreal, and long list of other chic places, soon to include li’l ol’ Santa Cruz. In fact, other than brief stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco several years ago, Santa Cruz is the first place in California the RedBall will have visited."
"Perschke says that RedBall is less about the ball itself as a sculpture, and more about audiences’ experiences. He and his team use their website and social media to connect with audiences before, during and after the piece visits their city.
“It’s more about the social experience,” he said. “People just notice it and come over to see what’s going on. Conversations start up. Strangers start to engage with each other.”
"The piece came directly out of working with an urban site for a commission. I had been offered an opportunity to develop an idea for one of three sites in St. Louis through the Arts in Transit program. I kept coming back to this ugly area, underneath an overpass with a bit of gravel on the ground. It had clearly been offered up because it was one of those leftover spots in a city, but I was drawn to the way the concrete bridge merged into the earth and the space is created. RedBall came out of my thinking about that space, and how to show what I was seeing." – Kurt Perschke
"Red invites a sense of play. Red is the color of energy and love. It’s always been red, even when I first drew it." – Kurt Perschke
It's a happy coincidence that the MAH's logo is also a red ball. And the MAH's logo draws inspiration from the red ball sculpture by Kenneth Hepburn found on the corner of Front & Cooper Street outside the museum.
There is only one. This is one well-traveled ball.
No, we won't keep you in suspense (for too long). Before the performance begins, we'll tease out and announce the sites on social media.
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